~ Damien ~
We popped up in a coffee shop, and I couldn't shake off the usual feeling of dizziness which accompanied teleportation.
As I blinked my eyes for a few seconds, I realized how everyone's attention became drawn to us, which seemed like a normal thing though. However, things felt a little off when I noticed how their eyes shone with a bright green tint.
I immediately swung my gaze at Ryan and asked:
"Are you seeing this too?"
Pulling his face into a frown, he responded, "Yeah"
Goosebumps carpeted my skin when dozens of them arose from their brown wooden seats and began approaching us until we were almost surrounded.
"Brains", they chorused.
I groaned.
"Not again"
I averted my gaze to the glass wall on the left, through which the golden rays of sun reflected. Since it was daytime, this made things clear that we weren't still on Alpha 26.
"But if this is earth, then what happened?", I wondered.
"Well, I don't know...you gotta stop asking questions in situations like this", Ryan responded.
Meanwhile, the zombie people kept drawing closer, growling with every step they took. Fear zipped down my spine as flashes of the bizzarre experience I had on Alpha 26 replayed in my mind.
"Get behind me now", instructed Ryan.
I darted behind him and immediately, the same blue sabers from earlier appeared in his hands at the flick of his wrists. The whole place became covered in red as his sabers cut through each of them almost at break-neck speed.
As for me, I moved from side to side in a bid to match his swift movement because I didn't want to leave his cover. But everything changed soon enough when loud shattering noises came from behind me.
Ryan and I were both plummeted onto the wooden floor, pieces of shattered glass raining upon us. It was then I realized that more zombie people broke through the glass wall from behind us, enveloping us in a full circle.
My heart couldn't stop pounding at the moment because I was familiar with the myth that zombies turned their bite victims into one of them with just a single bite; and I clearly didn't want to find out if it was true or not, at least not in such manner.
While struggling to get up on my feet, I asked Ryan:
"Can't you teleport us out of here...or something?"
"I can't...my weapons have drained the watch's last energy reserve", he responded.
I groaned.
Frozen, I watched as he picked up his weapon in a bid to charge towards them.
Thud!
My eyes shone in surprise when one of them moving swiftly, grabbed his neck and plunged him to the ground with sheer force. Before I could even make a move, I was grabbed from behind and rammed onto the ground as well, causing me to shriek.
I could do nothing but watch as they all scurried towards us while Ryan struggled in futility to break free. Soon enough, we became buried underneath them and all I could see was darkness; the horrid stench of blood I perceived also couldn't be mistaken.
"No", I whispered.
My mind became flooded with so much pain immediately one of them drove his sharp claws into my right arm. It felt as though I was fading out of reality, and the last thing I could remember was darkness engulfing my whole mind and body.
**********
Gasp!
I peeled my eyes open to find myself lying upon a small but really comfortable bed. My gaze scanned the whole place, allowing me to realize that I was in a white room which had a huge white screen and other small beds like mine, strewn across its left.
"Where am I?", I whispered.
My face crumpled into a deep frown when Ryan walked into the room, donned in an ash jumpsuit, approaching me with a blonde man who was clad in a white lab coat.
"Where's this place?", I asked.
Instead of a quick response, I received a broad smile from the blonde guy who stood beside him.
"Nice to meet you in person, Mr Stanton...I'm Dr. Harris, your dad's personal physician", said the blonde guy after adjusting his pair of glasses.
I sat up, allowing my frown melt away into a plain expression while gazing at the both of them.
Forcing a smile, I blurted, "Uh...it's nice to meet you, I guess"
Dr. Harris chuckled, extending a handshake when he neared me.
"Oh, and um...I'm sorry about your dad, by the way"
On hearing his words, I flung my gaze away from him and let out a deep sigh;
"Thanks", I managed to respond.
Curious enough as to how I didn't get turned into a zombie after I got stabbed and probably bitten by dozens of them, I had to ask:
"How did I get here?"
"Agent Vin saved you both...he brought you here in time, so I could administer the vaccine", Dr Harris explained, gesturing at Ryan too.
"And how did--"
I got interrupted when Ryan let out a deep sigh.
"Look, Damien...there's a lot we have to handle right now. So why don't you head up to the sixth floor and have a nice reunion with your pal, Dugan?"
My heart skipped more than two beats on hearing his last word. I pulled my face into a curious frown, frozen for a few seconds before finding my words again.
"Wait...Dugan's here?", I asked.
"In the flesh...he's waiting for you in the executive suite upstairs", Ryan answered.
I scoffed.
"It's not like I've been given a tour around this place"
"Take the first elevator by your left...it's on the sixth floor, the topmost part of this building", he said.
"Alright"
After fastening the loose buttons of the black shirt I found myself wearing, I strode past them, darting through the doorway without hesitation.
----------------------------
Turning to Dr. Harris, Ryan asked, "What's happening in the city?"
Taking a deep breath, Dr. Harris adjusted his glasses and began to explain:
"Few days ago, the city was polluted by green odourless fumes of gas...and by night fall, everyone who inhaled it was turned into the monsters you encountered today"
Ryan's eyes became fixed upon the images which were displayed on the huge white screen in front of him. He couldn't help but avert his gaze in disgust when his eyes met with the gory image of a person whose intestines were ripped apart by the zombies.
"But they're zombies...why aren't they interested in brains alone?", he asked.
"That's a good question..."
"From my research so far, I've understood that they also possess unique abilities unlike your average zombies. For starters, they're capable of moving at incredible speeds and have enhanced human strength...also--"
He got interrupted by Ryan before he could finish.
"Did she do this?"
"We can't be too sure...but I analyzed the green gas and it contained traces of venom from the green-eyed Egyptian viper. It was also laced with an organic compound whose structure I still can't comprehend"
Ryan let out a deep sigh.
"And the vaccine?", he asked.
"I found a way to reverse engineer the virus' composition, lacing it with a few organic compounds which I extracted from Mr. Stanton's strange plant"
"Well, you're not actually craving brains anymore, unlike when Vin rescued you and the kid...are you?"
"I'm not...", answered Ryan.
"Then it's functional...but there's a problem"
Ryan's face immediately crumpled into a frown.
"What's the problem?"
A sigh escaped the doctor's mouth as he flung his gaze at the white screen.
"The vaccine when nebulized, can't be exposed to air for a long period of time or it becomes corrosive to the human lungs", he said.
"I don't like the sound of that...and what might be the solution to this problem"
"You definitely won't like it..."
Ryan's brows furrowed into a more concerned frown.
"What's it?"
"Close administration of the vaccine in its gaseous form"
Ryan's heart skipped more than two beats at the sound of his words, causing an awkward silence to exist between the both of them.